The Beginning of Ukraine’s Journey to Retrieve its Looted Art: An Insight into the Present and Potential Future of Ukraine’s Cultural Restoration

October 22, 2023

By Jemima Gravatt

Introduction

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, over 235 cultural sites have been damaged,^[1] and thousands of artworks stolen, notably in the cities of Kherson, Melitopol and Maripoul. Whilst legal precedent exists for the restoration of stolen artwork back to their original owners, specific problems, including Russia’s relative obscurity in the global art market and its protectionist global stance, present themselves as possible issues for the future of these looted objects’ return, if and when they enter the market. This article will discuss the ideological background to the looting of Ukrainian art, followed by an assessment of the situation within the public and private spheres. If we have learnt anything about how to facilitate the return of art to its original and rightful owners, it is the importance of having a widely accessible record of that art object’s history.

The Looting of Ukraine

In order to understand the context behind looting, we must first investigate the why as to the whole operation. Putin has proclaimed that the preservation of these artworks is needed under martial law.^[2] And Russia’s broad plan to take over Ukraine and essentially eradicate the country’s existence applies equally to its treatment of the country’s art -the aim is eradication, possession, and repurposing for nationalistic bolstering.^[3] In this mission, Russia is breaking international law, which clearly outlaws looting. For many, the attempt is all too similar to the Nazis’ mission and their mechanistic looting of Jewish art, which saw a staggering total of 650,000 art pieces stolen from the Jewish people across Europe during the span of World War II.^[4] As Olena Yeremenko of the Kherson Regional Museum stated: they are attempting to ‘destroy our history.’^[5] It is about forming a narrative aligned with political aims – for Russia, taking artifacts from prior to its own existence as a country serves this purpose.^[6]

The looting of Scythian gold is the preeminent example of how politicized art has become between the two countries. Throughout the current war, Russia has stolen Scythian gold belonging to Ukraine, in part because of its desire to show its linkage to the ancient rulers.^[7] Although, in 2016, the international community, via the Amsterdam Court, recognised the belonging, in one instance, of Scythian gold to Ukraine.^[8] The unfortunate truth is that whilst Scythian gold now has a precedent as belonging to Ukraine, the reality is that whoever has it, it is tritely put, has possession over it. Giving back Scythian gold to Ukraine was possible because it was loaned from Crimea, but Russia is unlikely to make again such a ‘mistake’ of loaning, considering the value these politicized pieces appear to have.

Damage to immovable cultural objects and buildings

It is estimated that throughout the war so far, damage has occurred to 235 cultural sites including 22 museums and 19 monuments,^[9] with over 1,500 culturally significant objects being damaged or destroyed.^[10] UNESCO is in the process of setting up a committee of experts for Ukraine’s cultural restoration^[11] and has put aside $30 million for the delivery of protective equipment for these cultural sites.^[12] Any moveable objects have been transported for refuge elsewhere, including to Switzerland and to the Louvre in Paris.

A big focus has been on the recording of objects so that at least prior to any potential damage or destruction, there is an online copy or record of the object. UNESCO has recognised the importance of digitizing museum collections in the effort to protect Ukraine’s cultural heritage.^[13] Nationally, Ukrainians have been taking 3D scans of objects using their mobile phones for upload to an online database. Additionally, museums and archaeologists, as well as concerned members of the public are able to record anything onto the Art Loss Register, particularly where they are concerned of the object’s potential damage through the Cultural Heritage at Risk Database (CHARD). The physical protection and recording of these immovable objects is paramount in case pieces or parts of them appear for sale in the future.

Recorded looted artwork and artifacts

For those artworks that have been looted and either been taken to Russia or held within currently Russian-occupied areas, such as Donetsk or even Crimea, the situation becomes trickier. Forbes has reported that a 4th century B.C. gold helmet from the Scythian empire has been taken as well as other famous pieces such as Autumn Time by Georgy Kurnakov and Piquet on the Bank of the River Sunset by Ivan Pokhitonov.^[14] The media attention for these stolen artworks will certainly aid their tracking and eventual return in the future if these artworks ever come up for sale. Whilst they are housed in private homes in Russia, however, there is little that can be done. The Russian art market is perceived to be a relative ‘blindspot’ within the international art market;^[15] however, since Russia’s invasion, any art coming from Russia or Ukraine will certainly be investigated. Businesses have been widely encouraged to carry out client background checks,^[16] and internationally, Russian art has been largely removed from the active market, with Sotheby’s and Christie’s both canceling their annual Russian auctions in 2022.

Regardless of Russia’s involvement in the global market, it is likely that Russia will be more involved after the war and speculation as to galleries’ reliance on Russian oligarchs continues.^[17] Putin’s notoriously large art collection, valued to be over $1 billion, will likely not leave his hands, nor will it of the other Russian oligarchs who potentially will or already do, possess any of the looted artworks. If instead the artworks we know to be stolen end up in museum collections, the situation will similarly be difficult. Whilst the Amsterdam case called for the return of loaned Crimean artwork to Ukraine, this international recognition of the return of Ukrainian artwork may not be able to be realized in practice for other art pieces. Russian museums have a tendency not to loan artworks that were looted from the Nazis out of fear of the works being held and taken from them and returned to their rightful owners. The country has approximately 500,000 pre-existing expropriated artworks and rare books that it is keen to hold onto already,^[18] and this attitude is likely to continue. Further, artwork lent to the U.S. from Russia is now protected from claims that they were wrongfully taken whilst the pieces are in the U.S. temporarily, which further protects Russian held artworks from seizure in future.^[19]

Unknown looted artwork and artifacts: The importance of a database

As UNESCO has emphasized in relation to the preservation of museum collections, digitisation and the keeping of a record is tantamount to the protection of Ukrainian culture. Whilst the Kherson museum, for example, will most likely have a record of the 10,000 pieces that have been stolen out of its 13,500 total collection, the task to track where each and every piece ends up is immense. With some of their collection being taken to Crimea, there is of course no guarantee that it will be given back, even if the international community understands it belongs to them. It is generally understood that a unified online database of looted Ukrainian artwork is needed, just as it has been formed over time for Nazi-era looted artwork. The Ministry of Culture and the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) have recognised this need, and the Art Sanct Task Force of Ukraine has this need as one of its two mandates (the second being searching for the assets of sanctioned Russians and ensuring that they are frozen).^[20]

Private dwellings and lesser-known artworks and artifacts

Similarly to museums, which will need to look up their objects on a database in order to eventually get back their collections, individuals will need to know where to look in order to get back their objects. For Nazi-era looted art, the main problems have been the lack of international cohesion of legal remedies, the statute of limitations, and the lack of information as to artworks’ history of possession. Indeed, the early identification of artwork for this war will aid the process, however it is by no means guaranteed even then that artwork will be returned.^[21] The Russian army has looted not only museums but also private dwellings, including homes and private studios. As an example, in February 2023, a Ukrainian artist returned home to find all her artwork stolen.^[22] Unfortunately, it is unlikely in the early stages that her paintings will be able to be identified even if they do come up on the registry, and it will be much up to her to source her artwork and identify them as her own. In this battle for cultural restoration, individual claims will be harder than the tracking of famous artworks, for they are less well-known and thus followed. As was and is the case for Nazi-looted art, individuals will need to track their artwork and then provide proper evidence to eventually reclaim their artwork, which will hopefully be aided by the burgeoning online databases and teams currently coming into existence.

Conclusion

A clear history of the object’s past possession will be the best way of facilitating an object’s return. The waiting game of looted objects currently being held in Russian-occupied territories, in private Russian homes, or in Russian museums could be a long one. However, with the Ukrainian and European-level effort, focused on recording artwork as the conflict pans out, this will put the task of repatriation far ahead of where Nazi-looted art repatriation was at the same time. Whilst these pieces may contemporaneously be out of reach, if all that can be done is done, then when the time comes that an art object is being circulated on the market or loaned to a global museum, its return to its rightful owner will hopefully be not only possible but likely.

From the Editors: If you have information about looted art from Ukraine, please submit this information to the War & Art Database.

Further sources as to the response to the looting of Ukrainian art and artifacts:

• IFAR, https://www.ifar.org/news_article.php?docid=1677270214
• The Art Newspaper, https://www.theartnewspaper.com/keywords/russia-ukraine-crisis
• The Art Loss Register (ALR), https://www.artloss.com
• War & Art Database: https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en/art/

About the Author

Jemima Gravatt is a Master of Laws student at the LSE in London. She is also a volunteer at the National Portrait Gallery and received her undergraduate law degree from Durham University. She is passionate about art and how it intersects with the law, in particular, with new issues relating to AI and digital art. She is also interested in repatriation issues with her thesis being on the return of looted artifacts from museums to their origin countries.

Select Bibliography:

1. Alexandre Larcan, Damaged cultural sites in Ukraine verified by UNESCO (7 June, 2023) https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/damaged-cultural-sites-ukraine-verified-unesco ↑
2. Konstantin Akinsha, Vladimir Putin’s martial law decree has given Russian forces ‘legal’ cover to loot art in Ukraine (28 October 2022)

   https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/10/28/vladimir-putin-martial-law-ukraine-looting ↑

3. Sophia Kishkovsky, Russia to take over Ukrainian museum collections as formal annexation plans announced (29 September 2022)

   https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/09/29/russia-to-take-over-ukrainian-museum-collections-as-formal-annexation-plans-announced ↑

4. Alex Shoumatoff, The Devil and the Art Dealer (April 2014) https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2014/04/degenerate-art-cornelius-gurlitt-munich-apartment ↑
5. Brian Bushard, These Are Some Of The Most Famous Ukrainian Works Of Art Looted By Russia (14 January 2023)

   https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/01/14/these-are-some-of-the-most-famous-ukrainian-works-of-art-looted-by-russia/?sh=4159ee7b9b77 ↑

6. Anna Metsova, The Bitter Truth Behind Russia’s Looting of Ukrainian Art (21 January 2023) https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/01/russia-looting-ukraine-art-treasures-kherson/672790/ ↑
7. Konstantin Akinsha, ‘Scythian gold is at the heart of Russia’s identity war’ (19 January 2023)

   https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/01/19/scythian-gold-is-at-the-heart-of-russias-identity-war ↑

8. European Pradva, Supreme Court of the Netherlands Ruled to Return “Scythian Gold” to Ukraine (9 June 2023)

   https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/9/7163365/ ↑

9. (n 1) ↑
10. NACP, The Art of Sanctioning: the NACP together with MKIP start work within Art Sanct Task Force (2 February 2023)

    https://nazk.gov.ua/en/news/the-art-of-sanctioning-the-nacp-together-with-mkip-start-work-within-art-sanct-task-force/ ↑

11. EU NeighboursEast, Call for experts to safeguard cultural heritage in Ukraine – apply by 25 April (7 April 2023)

    https://euneighbourseast.eu/news/latest-news/call-for-experts-to-safeguard-cultural-heritage-in-ukraine-apply-by-25-april/ ↑

12. UNESCO, Ukraine: A. Azoulay and V. Zelensky together to rebuild the cultural sector (5 April 2023)

    https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ukraine-azoulay-and-v-zelensky-together-rebuild-cultural-sector?TSPD_101_R0=080713870fab2000f8099bff9fa314b4f6c29db0cda71d864619e2b811b41dc18d747b2add8f149208dc86d8421430005940a47b5c8edda2077c42b8520789bc317b1467a0322fb9143e2c7c8fd738cb2091dacf2592045dfeb3c328e30997f0 ↑

13. (n 1) ↑
14. (n 4) ↑
15. Anna Brady, ‘No one feels ambivalent towards Russia’: Jo Vickery on leaving Sotheby’s, launching her art advisory and looking beyond politics (16 March 2021)

    https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/03/16/no-one-feels-ambivalent-towards-russia-jo-vickery-on-leaving-sothebys-launching-her-art-advisory-and-looking-beyond-politics ↑

16. Paula Trommel, How one year of Russian sanctions have shaped the art market (13 March 2023)

    https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/03/13/how-one-year-of-russian-sanctions-have-shaped-the-art-market ↑

17. Oliver Basciano,‘It’s artwashing’: can galleries wean themselves off Russian oligarch loot? (17 March 2022)

    https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/mar/17/artwashing-art-galleries-russian-oligarch-money ↑

18. Isaac Arnsdorf, Russia critics, museums square off over Senate artwork bill (15 September 2016) https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-artworks-museums-russia-228239 ↑
19. Ibid ↑
20. (n 9) ↑
21. Catherine Hickley, She Tracked Nazi-Looted Art. She Quit When No One Returned It. (17 March 2020)

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/arts/design/georg-schafer-museum-nazi-looted-art.html#:~:text=Lawsuits%20to%20recover%20Nazi%2Dlooted,private%20collectors%20who%20possess%20it. ↑

22. Sarah Collier, Bucha massacre: Ukrainian artist returned home to find all her belongings stolen (25 February 2023)

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/bucha-kyiv-kremlin-volodymyr-zelensky-un-security-council-b2289374.html ↑

 

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